Ready to Love Again
by 4ever Beautiful
Summary: Ezra never met Alison so he never had the initiative to stay in Rosewood after graduating from Hollis. Ezra comes back to Rosewood five years later and takes up ownership of The Brew which leads to his meeting of Aria. Both have had negative experiences when it comes to love but their meeting gives the two a new chance at love. (NOTE: The first two chapters are background chapters)
1. Ezra's Story

**Chapter One: Ezra's Story**

Ezra had never been lucky when it came to love. Born into a family where he didn't feel as he belonged sent Ezra on a journey. This journey caused much heartbreak for Ezra.

First it was with his own family. After his parents' divorce his father left New York never once contacting Ezra or his brother again. The divorce also caused Ezra to see his mother for who she truly was, someone who liked perfection and wanted to be seen in a certain light. Ezra's passion for literature which caused his desire to teach did not sit well with his mother who had plans for Ezra to have a more respectable occupation such as a doctor, lawyer or businessman. This was one of the reasons why Ezra broke all ties with his family.

It wasn't just his mother's treatment of him which caused him to turn his back on his family. It was also the way she controlled his life. His first ever love Maggie walked out of his life because of his mother. He spent months searching for her, to the extent that he delayed his freshman year of college by one year to enable him to find Maggie. In the end Ezra was left with a broken heart and a desire to get away from his family. He changed his named from 'Fitzgerald' to 'Fitz' and left New York to attend college in Rosewood, Pennsylvania.

Ezra became good friends with his college roommate Hardy Alexander. After three months of living in the dorms, Hardy introduced Ezra to Jackie Molina who was good friends with Hardy's fling of the month. After dating for a couple of months Ezra found himself falling for Jackie, but this is when the couple started fighting. Jackie was a jealous person and believed that everyone was a threat. Jackie's constant untrusting of Ezra caused the relationship to end six months in.

The break up did not last long though as the too soon got back together at the start of sophomore year. Jackie had promised Ezra that she had worked through her jealously and this time she would be more trustful of Ezra, but old habits die hard and the two broke things off in the same fashion as they did before.

In the year that followed the breakup with Jackie, Ezra briefly dated two girls. The first relationship with Kennedy Boyd who was in one of Ezra's English classes only lasted a month. The second relationship began due to Hardy's existence the only way his current fling would go on a date with him was if her friend had a date too, which is where Ezra came in. Ezra agreed only in order to get Hardy to stop pestering him, but he found he enjoyed spending time with Hayley Edwards, a history major. The two dated for four months until coming to the conclusion that they didn't have too much in common.

Just over a year after breaking up with Jackie, the two happened to be attending the same Christmas party and ended up getting back together that night. The following summer the couple traveled to Europe together and during their time in Italy Ezra proposed after he and Jackie had spent a blissful seven months together where Jackie had left all her jealously issues behind. The two returned the United States happily engaged and ready to start their senior year of college. After becoming engaged Ezra and Jackie had agreed that they wouldn't start wedding planning until after they had graduated.

The bliss didn't continue though, as six months into their engagement Jackie called off the wedding as she wasn't ready for the commitment. Ezra was heartbroken once again as he believed that Jackie had been the one.

Ezra continued with his life and threw himself into his studies graduating towards the top of his class. That fall Ezra commenced the Hollis College two year master's program in order to receive his teaching degree. Once Ezra had completed the degree he was tossed on whether he should stay in Rosewood or leave, eventually coming to the decision to leave after Hardy offered him room in his apartment in New York.

In New York Ezra commenced his teaching career by teaching English to juniors and seniors at the high school close to Hardy's apartment. Ezra eventually got his own place only five minutes away from the high school.

In his second of teaching Ezra met Karina Wright a recent graduate of New York University who was assigned to be Ezra's teaching assistant. The two bonded over their love for literature and soon began dating. After two years of dating Ezra proposed. Ezra finally thought that everything was going right in his life, but it was actually the opposite. After being engaged for a year and having little mention of wedding planning, Ezra brought it up to Karina. Karina confessed that her heart wasn't in it as she wasn't ready for marriage. Karina gave back the ring and moved out of the apartment that she and Ezra shared. Ezra was again heartbroken.

Not being able to face the memories of their time together, Ezra packed a few things up, gave in his resignation and started driving. He found himself in Rosewood and stopped at The Brew to order a coffee where he noticed a sign stating that the building and business were for sale. Ezra saw this as a sign that he needed change in his life in order to be happy. Ezra therefore made inquiries of buying The Brew and within a month he had brought the business and moved into the loft above. The following months consisted of Ezra turning The Brew into not only a coffee house but a bookstore, which turned into huge success.

That's what led Ezra to meeting Aria, his soulmate. The journey hadn't ended though as Ezra walked to hard line of falling in love with someone who was in a committed relationship.

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 **What did you guys think? Next chapter will be similar to this, but what Aria has gone through. That chapter should be up either tomorrow or Saturday as I'm probably half way through writing it. I have a plan of what I hope to cover during this story but if you guys have any suggestions let me know.  
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	2. Aria's Story

**Thank you for the kind reviews! As promised here is chapter two which I know many of you have been dying to read!**

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 **Chapter Two: Aria's Story**

Aria's relationship problems are began once she returned to Rosewood after spending a year abroad in Iceland. In Iceland she had a few flings with some local boys but nothing serious. Aria never had very strong feelings for the Icelandic boys that she dated, they were just a way for her to keep her mind of her father's affair, Alison's disappearance, and the breakdown of her friendship with Spencer, Emily and Hanna following their friend's mysterious disappearance. Once back in Rosewood though, everything changed.

Aria reconciled with her friends after the discovery of Alison's body and learning that all four of them were being stalked by a mysterious figure known as 'A'. Aria had grown up a lot during her time in Iceland and part of that growing up experience was getting over her large crush on Noel Kahn, which Aria had all through middle school and in her freshman year of high school. It was only now that Aria had gotten past her crush, that Noel started to notice her. Hanna was dating Sean Ackard, one of Noel's close friends at the time, and convinced Aria to join her and Sean on a double date with Noel. Aria was unsure about it as she was still recovering from her mom moving out upon learning about her dad's affair with his student. Aria ended up agreeing to please Hanna and actually found herself having a good time.

The two continued to date for a couple of weeks until the girl's thought that Noel was 'A'. On the night of Mona's sleepover birthday party which Hanna had been dis-invited to Noel was caught by Hanna sneaking around the camp grounds with wearing a black hoodie. Hanna naturally assumed that he was 'A'. Hanna being hit by a car later proved it to not only Hanna but the girls that Noel was 'A'. Aria ended up breaking up with Noel, not wanting to take a chance that he wasn't who he said he was.

Aria continued to stay single for about a month until Jason DiLaurentis returned to town. The two started spending time together which lead to Jason asking Aria out. Things didn't last though, as Jason broke up with Aria after she and her friends were arrested. Aria was heartbroken over the break up as she had fallen for Jason, but had not yet confessed it to him.

Hoping that Aria would get her mind of Jason, Aria's parents, who had gotten back together a couple of months earlier, encouraged Aria to start spending time with Holden Strauss, Aria's childhood best friends who had just returned to Rosewood after spending a year abroad in Portugal. The two enjoyed spending time together which turned into a brief relationship. They decided to end things though as they felt they were better suited as friends.

Jason DiLaurentis returned to Rosewood around the time that Holden and Aria decided to just be friends. Jason approached Aria and apologized for breaking up with Aria and that he knew she would have never done anything to hurt Alison. He confesses to her that he's felt lost ever since they broke up and even goes as far to admit that he had recently found out that Spencer's dad was his biological father. Aria helped Jason through this which lead to her and Jason getting back together.

Upon finding out that Mona was 'A' Jason helped Aria deal with the aftermath just like Aria had helped Jason when he found out about his true parentage. Aria had a blissful summer with Jason which included Jason joining the Montgomery family on vacation to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The bliss does not last long though as a result of the remains of Alison being stolen from her grave. Aria feels guilty about being there that night even though she and her friends don't know what happened. As a result Aria decides that it is better if she breaks up with Jason.

Amongst all this, Aria finds out that her father has started seeing Meredith, who he had cheated on Aria's mother with. Aria confronts her dad about it who reassures Aria that she has nothing to worry about, he's just trying to mend how they left things in the past. Aria catches him kissing Meredith in his office at Hollis and this time she doesn't hesitate to tell her mother even though she knows it will hurt her.

Aria went through a tough time during this period. Her parents started fighting again and she knew this time they would not be able to work things out. Aria was right, as her parents came to the conclusion that they weren't the same people they had fallen in love with and filed for divorce. Instead of her mother moving out as she done a year previously, this time it was her dad who moved out.

Aria decided because of all the drama in her life, from the breakdown of her parents' marriage to the constant threats from 'A', she would take a break from guys. That was until she met Jake Cruz. Since 'A's' threats had become much harsher, Aria decided she needed extra protection which lead her to take a self-defense class which Jake taught. The two got to know each other, and although at first Aria wasn't ready to be in another relationship, her jealously of seeing Jake hanging out with another women got the better of her, leading to Aria and Jake to start a romantic relationship.

Aria's relationship with Jake all came to a close after they had spent a weekend apart. Jake was attending a martial arts competition in Harrisburg while Aria was going on a tour of Syracuse University. It was on this weekend that Aria met Riley Hunter. Their meeting was not of the conventional kind as they met after getting wasted at a frat party and ended up sleeping together. The next day, Aria and Riley got to know each other which lead Aria to discovering that she really liked Riley. The two parted ways at the end of the weekend with a desire to see the other again.

Although Aria enjoyed her time with Riley, when she returned to Rosewood she could not stop herself from being guilty and decided to end things with Jake. Now that she was single, Aria and Riley started dating and would see each other every other weekend.

After a few months of dating, Aria noticed that they had started to drift apart which was fueled by the fact that Riley would be attending college in California while Aria would be in Savannah. Aria eventually broke things off with Riley due to distance.

Upon her breakup with Riley, Aria began dating Andrew Campbell almost immediately. Andrew had been tutoring her so she could keep her grades up so her spot at SCAD would not be taken away from her. The relationship did not last, as after Aria and her friends were kidnapped by 'A' it was thought by the police that Andrew had something to with it. Once Aria and her friends were rescued, they came to believe this which led to Aria and Andrew breaking up.

After it was found out that CeCe Drake otherwise known as Charlotte or Charles DiLaurentis was 'A', Aria made the decision that in order to finally enjoy life for the first time in two years she needed to be single for at least a year.

Aria kept her vow to stay single for at least a year even though she had many guys being interested in her, and her new friends encouraging her to go out with certain guys. During spring break of Aria's sophomore year she and her friends decided to go to Miami which is where Aria met Brayden Thorne through one of her friends. Brayden was a college senior at Georgia State University. The two clicked almost immediately as Aria discovered that they were both into the same type of music and were both lovers of art. They continued to date and only broke up because Aria was going to be spending her junior year abroad in France and would be starting the experience by traveling through Europe during the summer with Spencer who had recently broken up with Toby.

Within the first couple of weeks of attending college in France, Aria met local student Louis Bouvier. Louis turned out to be Aria's longest relationship since dating Jason. They stayed to together for the whole of junior year, and spent the following summer traveling through Europe together. They parted ways at the end of August as Aria had to return to Savannah for her senior year, but the two resolved to continue their relationship long distance.

That winter Louis traveled to America to spend Christmas with Aria. The two spent the holiday in Boston with Aria's mother's side of the family. At the beginning of January, just before Louis left for France, Aria and Louis decided to end their relationship.

Upon graduating from college, Aria began looking for jobs in different cities across the country. Aria eventually landed a job at a publishing firm in Boston. This is where she met Liam McCarthy. Liam was definitely interested in Aria from the beginning, but Aria did not give in to Liam's advances for six months, only doing so in order to stop Liam from pestering her. Aria found out though that she actually really liked Liam, and eventually fell in love with him.

In September of that same year, Alison came to Aria and their friends requesting that they return to Rosewood. Aria was in a really happy place with Liam as the two were making plans to move in with each other, but what Aria did not know that Alison's request would change Aria's life forever as it would be this trip that she would meet Ezra, her future husband.

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 **Next chapter: Aria meets Ezra for the first time! I can't promise when I will have the next chapter up but I can say that I've started writing it. So I thought I would give you a tiny sneak peek. Someone will say the following line:**

" **I wouldn't have met the most intriguing woman if he hadn't."**

 **Leave a review and let me know what you thought about the chapter, or who you think says the line I gave you and what they are talking about.**


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